


let me reach you

by sepfish



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Self-Doubt, Self-Reflection, Tags Are Hard, i guess, i will add more later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27982401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sepfish/pseuds/sepfish
Summary: Takumi finds himself lost after an argument with Leo. He gets some advice from an unexpected place.
Relationships: Leon | Leo & Takumi
Kudos: 2





	let me reach you

_Thunk._

Takumi watched the arrow sink into the tree and dissipate into blue mist. He raised Fujin Yumi, and fired again.

_Thunk_.

He really should have been at the castle, organizing a banquet with his family and the Nohrian royals. They were supposed to be figuring out the entertainment today. However, he and Leo had gotten into a particularly heated argument about something-or-other, and it had quickly escalated into a shouting match, the two princes hurling insults at each other. Normally they would have gotten over it, but something Leo said got on his nerves more than usual and he said something he really shouldn’t have.

“This is why your mother never liked you,” he had snapped bitterly.

Takumi had immediately realized what he said and covered his mouth in shock. Leo had stepped back, face displaying a visage of betrayal and horror. Thinking about it still filled Takumi with a horrible feeling. He’d never forget the way Leo’s eyes widened and started to fill with tears, something the Nohrian prince would never show in public. Too mortified to apologize to Leo, Takumi had run from the room, ignoring the shouts of his retainers, and sprinted towards the woods surrounding the castle. He hadn’t stopped at his normal training spot and instead barreled directly into the heart of the forest. Eventually he had stopped to catch his breath and realized he had no idea where he was. After wandering aimlessly for who knows how long, he had given up and started attacking a defenseless tree.

_Thunk_.

It was his fault, really, for being so cowardly and running away. He should have just faced what he had said and said sorry. But he didn’t and now he was alone in a forest and the sun was dipping low in the sky. 

Takumi punched the rough bark, feeling it rip at his gloves, and clenched his teeth so hard it hurt. 

Why did he have to do something so stupid? He was so weak.

Something wet dripped down his face and fell on the ground. Takumi sank to his knees, tears stubbornly falling no matter how hard he squeezed his eyes shut.

_I guess it doesn’t matter. They’re better off without me_ , he thought bitterly.

A small part of his brain noted that it was getting late and he might as well try to head back, but he ignored it and sat against the tree, watching the slowly darkening sky through blurry eyes. Soon it was twilight and the shadows slowly started to grow. Takumi eyed the dark expanse warily. He hated to admit it, but the dark made him nervous.

Suddenly there was a low growl. _That_ made him even more nervous.

A wolf-like creature crept out of the shadows. Takumi stood up, back against the tree, and shot an arrow at it. His hands were shaking so badly that he missed. He shot again and again, and it finally fell. 

More creatures crept out of the shadows, ones that Takumi had never seen before. Monstrous birds and floating snail-like creatures and sentient trunks and rocks all circled him with snapping mouths and flashing eyes. He briefly wondered if he should climb the tree when they all pounced.

Takumi fired volley after volley of arrows, but the flow of monsters never ceased. It seemed like as he killed one, two took its place. Then he felt a claw graze his arm, ripping the fabric of his shirt and tearing his skin. Takumi hissed and stepped back, firing an arrow in retaliation, and felt a hit and searing pain on his back. His vision turned red and he grimaced, dropping his bow. The monsters took the opportunity to attack him, swiping at him ferociously. One got a good hit in and Takumi staggered back. His head hit a tree trunk and he felt his hair grow heavy and wet as he faded into unconsciousness.

\---

Takumi’s dreams swam with strange images of people he’d never seen before. He saw two girls peering down at him, one brunette and one blond. A person with hair almost as red as Hinoka’s sharpened a sword idly. A tall person with glasses that glinted in the light inspected the Fujin Yumi, remarking on what a strange weapon it was.

The first thing he noticed when he came to was the faint crackling of a fire. He idly wondered what he was doing sleeping in the drawing room when it all came rushing back to him. 

His eyes snapped open and he sat up with a gasp, then immediately regretted it as his head started pounding with a vengeance. Someone eased him back down onto his back. It was a guy with blond hair that reminded him a little of Leo’s weird retainer.

“Oh, you’re awake! Whoa, whoa. Just lay back down, you’re fine.”

Takumi decided that it was not Leo’s weird retainer, since he was wearing a shirt and not talking in gibberish. 

“We found you in the woods, about to become dinner for some monsters. You looked like you were holding out for a long time, though. Pretty impressive!”

He opened his mouth to say something when the person pressed a cup full of water into his hands.

“Don’t talk yet. Here, drink this,” he said. He dug around in his pocket and pulled out a small red gummy. “Oh, and eat this too. Stay here. I’ll go get Tear and she can look over you again. I’m Guy, by the way.”

Takumi didn’t realize how thirsty he was. He downed the entire cup in two gulps and inspected the gummy suspiciously.

“Don’t worry, it's just an Apple Gel. It won’t hurt you,” the guy—Guy said, standing up. “I’ll be right back.”

Takumi had never heard of an Apple Gel in his life, but he obediently bit into the gummy. True to its namesake, it tasted like fresh apples. It seemed to fill him with vitality. Then he frowned.

_Wait._

He was being looked over by a healer? Why were these people doing all this for him? They shouldn't have to be going through all this trouble, just for someone who ran off like an idiot.

“I—I'm sorry for the trouble,” Takumi croaked. He was surprised at how awful his voice sounded.

Guy looked at him. “Don't be sorry. We couldn’t just let you die out there, could we?”

\---

Takumi inspected himself after Guy had left. His head was wrapped in lots of bandages, and his skin felt uncomfortably warm. He also noted that his hands were shaking, something he hadn’t noticed before. There were more bandages wrapped tightly around parts of his legs, his arms, and his midsection. He supposed he looked like one of those Nohrian mummy creatures that Leo had told him about.

Thinking about Leo so much made him feel even more guilty. He supposed Leo had the last laugh, what with him getting so injured. He felt his eyes burning again and was spared from his thoughts by the arrival of ‘Tear’. She turned out to be the brunette girl Takumi had seen in his strange dreams, which he figured were probably not dreams but instead him being delirious and half-awake. He watched her face get more and more worried as she inspected his injuries.

Finally, Tear finished and stepped back. “When we found you, your wounds were still pretty fresh, so we were able to treat them pretty quickly. They still look pretty bad, though. You’ve also got a high fever. I was afraid to use any healing artes on you while you were unconscious, but since you’re awake and coherent I can probably do them safely now. You should finish that, by the way,” she said, gesturing to the forgotten gummy. As Takumi ate the rest of the gummy, he felt a strange warmth, and looked over in surprise to find Tear glowing as she said an incantation. He looked down at himself and found himself glowing as though Sakura was using her healing rod on him. He supposed that this must have been the healing ‘arte’ that Tear mentioned. 

“Alright, now that you’re feeling a little better you should probably go and eat,” Tear said, helping him to his feet. “After that, we’d, ah, like to know how you ended up in the middle of the woods.”


End file.
